February 2026 Newsletter

Happy February! We hope you’ve been able to stay warm this past month.

Wild Things Conference

We want to start by highlighting Wild Things, a “celebration of nature, wildlife, ecosystem restoration, birding, botanizing, networking, and discovery – from the lowly mushroom to the high-flying falcon.” Basically, it’s a conference for nature lovers! This year’s Wild Things took place in O’Fallon, IL for the very first time (it’s usually around Chicagoland). TWWT even had the opportunity to present for one of the panels.

While Wild Things 2026 is over, we highly recommend checking it out so you can go next time. All of the presenters are highly knowledgeable with many of them being active researchers. You never know what you might learn. For example, have you ever heard of the enigmatic cavesnail? Neither had we, but we got to learn from the very man (Bob Weck) who owns and researches the only cave they live in! It’s not often that you can learn from and speak with a person like this (and that’s just one example…).

In addition to ecology, you can also learn a lot about the other sides of environmentalism including community building, volunteerism, environmental justice, and education. There are panels for everyone! It’s a great way to get connected with like-minded individuals, learn how people are realizing their goals, and get inspired.

Quarry Care

Quarry Care continues with our next date happening this Saturday, February 14th. We’d love for you to join us if you’re free! We were planning on burning brush piles just north of Krueger Quarry, where we were able to remove a huge amount of woody invasive species over the winter. The difference is night and day. Burning the removed woody material expedites nutrient redelivery into the soil, increases soil exposure, and promotes new plant growth.

For more details on the project, the removed species were predominantly invasive buckthorns, bush honeysuckles, and oriental bittersweet. These species spread aggressively, creating dense thickets that shade out native species. Additionally, buckthorns and honeysuckles are allelopathic, meaning they release chemicals into the soil that stunt the growth of other species. Oriental bittersweet is not allelopathic, but instead kills trees by wrapping so tightly that it girdles them (bittersweet is a woody vine). These species have no natural predators in Illinois and grow on a different timeline than native species (as in they grow their leaves earlier and keep their fruit longer into winter).

We’ve come a long way from where we started! Volunteers have always played a big role here, and we truly appreciate your continued support. We hope to keep up the good work with your help.